Recording-scale.



PATENTED JUNE 6, 1905.

H. HATHAWAY.

RECORDING SCALE.

APPLICATION Hmm JUNE 2a, 1904.

UNITED STATES Patented June 6, 1905.

HOSEA HATHAIVAY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RECORDING-SCALE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,554, dated June 6,1905.

Application filed June 23, 1904. Serial No. 213,785.

T0 all 7071/0177! it muy concern:

Be it known that I, HosnA I-IATHAWAY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Recording-Scales, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to recording-scales, and is intended to provide asimple and highlyeflicient device of this class which shall be reliablein its action and durable in service.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one of the forms underwhich the principles of this invention may be embodied; but it will beunderstood that variations may be made in the construction andarrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation in approximately centralsection, showing one of the forms of my invention. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation, the registering meehanism being shown in central section.Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the casing containing the registeringdevice. Fig. a is a detail perspective showing the construction of thedisk carrying the units figures.

In the practice of my invention as illustrated in the drawings I providea tubular casing af, at whose upper end is arranged a transverse casingof larger diameter c' to contain the registering mechanism and which isprovided with an upward extension terminating in a hook a? forsupporting the scale. The lower end of the tubular casing is providedwith a close-fitting cap c3, which, as shown, is provided with a smallperforation for slowly venting the air during each weighing operation.Near its upper end the casing is also provided with an air hole orpassage a" to prevent interference with the action of the pistonconnected with the recording mechanism.

The casing c, with its end cap a3, acts as a supporting-frame for aspring-balance, which comprises a draft or weight-carrying rod L,provided with an enlarged head Z/,which rests upon and is supported by acompressionspring' t, said spring beingI compressed in proportion to thegravity of the object to be weighed. In this case the draft-rod passesthrough the central orifice in the cap c3, which it completely fills. Itis immaterial whether this hole is made sufficiently large to act as avent for the compressed air inside the lower end of the casing orWhether the separate oritice, as shown at c, is employed.

The registering device is of the rotary-disk type and comprises a rotaryshaft c, to which is secured the units-disk c' and upon which areloosely mounted the tens-disk c, the hundredsdisk c3, and the thousands-disk c". To the middle portion of the shaft c is pivoted a pinion (il,which meshes with the rack-bar c, the rack-bar serving to actuate theregistering mechanism in a manner hereinafter to be described. Thispinion Z has any suitable clutch engagement with the shaft c, such aswill permit the pinion to turn backward without turning' the shaft whilecausing it to engage the shaft in its forward rotation in order torotate said shaft. In this case I have shown a simple ball-clutch foreffecting such engagement. Since the units-disk c' is fast on the shaftc, any rotation of the shaft will cause a corresponding rotation of thedisk c.

The upward extension of the scale is provided with a graduatedscale-plate arranged to register any weight up to one hundred pounds,this plate being arranged so that the Zeromark is opposite the upper orpointed end of the rack-bar e when no weight is carried by thespring-balance. In the device shown the proportion of the parts is suchthat a complete traverse of the scale-bar or rack-bar e from O to 100causes two complete revolutions of the pinion (l. It will therefore beseen that one complete revolution of the pinion J. corresponds to themovement caused by a weight of fifty pounds. As the second disk c2 isintended to register ten pounds for each tenth of a revolution, itsperiphery is numbered consecutively from 0 to 9, inclusive. One forwardstep or onetenth of a revolution of the disk c being equal to ten poundsmust correspond with one-fifth of a revolution of the diskd. Thismovement is accomplished by providing the adjacent side or face of thedisk c' with a series of five projecting pins c1", so that upon eachfifth of a revolution of the disk c the disk c2 will be advanced onestep, or one-tenth of a revolution. Any suitable mechanism may beemployed for effecting this movement. I have here shown a shaft farranged in' the casing a slightly back of and above the respectivedisks, said shaft being provided with a series of actuating-pawls f',which engage, respectively, corresponding ratchet wheels f2. formed onor secured to the lateral faces of the disks c2, 03, and c4. These pawlsare pivotally secured to pawl-levers f3, which are pivoted upon the rodor shaft f, and each of said pawl-levers is provided with a projectingarm f4, carrying a lug f5, arranged to lie in the path of the pins c1,carried on the lateral face of each disk. As before stated, theunitsdisk is provided With five such pins, so that during one completerotation it acts upon the actuating-pawl of the tens-disk c2 {ivesuccessive times, thereby moving said tens disk through five successivesteps, thus register'- ing fifty pounds on the dial-register. As thecomplete traverse of the rack-bar e causes two complete revolutions ofthe shaft c and disk c', these five pins during these two completerevolutions Will act upon the tens-disk ten times through the medium ofits actuating-pawl, thus moving it ten steps, or one completerevolution. As the disk c2 is provided with a single projecting pin c1",arranged to engage the pawl of the hundreds-disk c3, it will be seenthat one complete revolution of the disk c2 will cause the disk c3 to bemoved forward one step, equal to one-tenth of a revolution, thusindicating one hundred pounds on the register. In a similar manner thethousands-disk o4 is actuated from the disk c?.

Assuming that the recording mechanism is at Zero, let a weight of onehundred pounds be thrown upon the scale. This causesl the` draft orweight rod to descend against the resistance of its spring b3, whichitcom presses to a certain point. It will be noticed that the rack-bar ehas no direct connection with the spring-balance, but that thespring-balance merely acts as a stop to hold said rack-bar against themovement which normally would be caused by the light'compression-springe', which bears against the upper part of the tubular casing or frame aand thrusts against the piston e2, which is secured to the lower end ofthe rack-bar, so as to completely fill the tubular casing. So long asthe springbalance is not compressed or under tension the rack-bar willbe held at the zero-point. Its descent under the action of the spring ewill be limited alternately only-by the position of the head b of thespring-balance. As the spring-balance is likely' to jump back and forthbefore settling into its final position of rest under gravity of theobject being weighed, it is important that the registering mechanismshould not come to rest upon the head of the spring-balance until thespringbalance has come to rest in its final position. I thereforeprovide means for retarding the movement of the piston e2 by making thelower end of the casing air-tight, except for a small vent-hole a5,which allows the air to escape gradually.

The independent movements of the registering device and of thespring-balance constitute an important feature of this invention, sinceby such a construction and arrangement the likelihood of the devicerecording more than the proper weight by reason of its passing beyondthe proper limit under the influence of the momentum of the weightplaced on the spring-balance is completely avoided. Another importantfeature in the construction and arrangement shown is that the weighingoperation is performed by compressing the spring instead of expandingit, thus greatly prolonging the durability or life of the spring.Moreover, by having the cap a3 arranged to inclose the casing at itslower end and support the spring-balance I find it very easy to getaccess to the interior of the device for repairs, replacement, &c.

To prevent backlash of the recording-disks, I have provided a frictionpawl or brake f. This acts under the tension of a spring with sufficientforce to hold the disk against accidental displacement, while notinterfering with the step-by-step movement imparted by theactuating-pawls of the respective disks.

By the construction and arrangement shown the weight of each successiveobject weighed is shown on the scale-plate 0 so long as the Weight hangson the balance, and at the same time a permanent record is made on thedial or disks which is not aected by the return or upward movement ofthe scale-beam or rackbar e to the zero position.

If desired, the casing a' may be provided with a hinged door a, providedwith apertures through which the numerals on the disks may be seen, andsaid door may be provided with a lock to keep it permanently closed, eX-cept when it is desired to open the same for resetting the register orfor any other purpose.

While I have described in detail the registering mechanism herein shown,it will be understood that various forms of recording-registers may beemployed and that modifications may be made in the arrangement andconstruction of other parts of the device as Well.

Without attempting to set forth the various modifications in form,construction, and arrangement which may be made in the practice of myinvention or all the modes of its application, what I claim is- 1. Arecording-scale embracing in its construction, a tubular casing providedwith a sliding piston, a registering device having connection with saidpiston by which it is actuated, and a spring-balance carried by saidcas- IOO ing and having movement independently of said piston, saidspring-balance being arranged to form a stop or support for said pistonin its various positions, substantially as described.

2. A recording-scale embracing in its construction, a casing or frame, acompressionspring supported therein, a draft or weight rod supported bysaid spring in position to compress said spring under the gravity of asuspended weight, and a registering device for recording` the successiveweighing movements of said draft-rod, substantially as described.

3. A recording-scale embracing in its coustruction, a tubular casing, aspring-balance mounted therein, a registering device provided with apiston arranged to' traverse said tubular casing, said casing beingprovided with an air-vent at its lower end to retard the movement ofsaidpiston relatively to the movenient of the spring-balance, and meansfornormally pressing said piston toward the springbalance, substantiallyas described.

et. A recording-scale embracing in its construction, a graduated-scaleplate, a rack-bar adapted to move over said plate, a registering devicehaving engagement with said rack-bar to make a permanent record of thesuccessive weights, a spring-balance arranged to form a movable stop forsaid rack-bar, and means for imparting a gradual movement to saidrackbar when the spring-balance is depressed, substantially asdescribed.

5. A recording-scale embracing in its construction a multiple-diskregister, a rack-bar, a connecting-pinion forming an intermediateconnection between said rack-bar and said register arranged to transmitmotion to the units-disk of the register, said units-disk being providedwith a plurality of pins, a pawl arranged to engage with each one ofsaid pins in succession to move the tens-wheel forward step by step, anda spring-balance arranged to form a variable stop to limit the movementof the rack-bar according to the weight suspended upon thespring-balance, substantially as described.

6. A recording-scale embracing in its construction a draft orweight-carrying rod, a yielding spring arranged to support said rod, areciprocating follower arranged to press normally toward said draft-rodwhile capable t of independent movement, a recording-register adapted torecord the total of successive weighing operations arranged to haveengagement with said follower, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of June,1904.

HOSEA HATHAIVAY. In presence of- GEO. N. GODDARD,

KATHARINE A. DUGAN.

